Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is once again firing back at President Donald Trump after the president took aim at him and ABC.
Kimmel responded to Trump’s online rant, where Trump criticized ABC for bringing Jimmy Kimmel Live! back on air. The show had recently returned on September 23 following a suspension. Just before the return, Trump posted on Truth Social that he “can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.”
Kimmel didn’t hold back. “You can’t believe they gave me my job back?” he said during his show. “I can’t believe we gave you your job back.”
Trump went even further in his Truth Social post, threatening legal action against ABC. He claimed Kimmel’s return puts the network at risk and hinted at another lawsuit. “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this,” Trump wrote. He also brought up a previous case involving ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos and E. Jean Carroll, where ABC reached a settlement. “Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 million,” Trump said. “This one sounds even more lucrative.”
Kimmel, as usual, turned the moment into a joke. “Only Donald Trump would try to prove he’s not threatening ABC by threatening ABC,” he said. “You almost have to feel sorry for the people who work for him and have to clean up his messes.”
After Donald Trump claimed Jimmy Kimmel had been suspended because of poor ratings, the late-night host didn’t hesitate to fire back. Kimmel pointed to Trump’s own approval numbers, saying, “He does know bad ratings. He has some of the worst ratings any president has ever had.”
Speaking directly to his audience, Kimmel addressed those who believe he should be taken off the air for mocking Trump. “I want to explain why I talk about Trump so much,” he said. “It’s because he’s a bully. I don’t like bullies. I played the clarinet in high school, OK? So I just don’t like them.”
He went on to compare Trump to an old-school movie villain. “Donald Trump is like an ‘80s movie bully who steals your lunch money. And if you give it to him once, he’ll just keep taking it.”
Kimmel then made a pop culture comparison. “Supporting this kind of bully, no matter what your politics are, is like rooting for Biff from Back to the Future. And just so you know, Donald Trump was literally the inspiration for Biff. This is who people are cheering for? I don’t get it. I’m with Marty McFly.”
Kimmel has long been one of Trump’s most outspoken critics on late-night TV. His recent suspension from Jimmy Kimmel Live! lasted nearly a week and followed backlash over a segment where he criticized how right-wing figures reacted to the arrest of Tyler Robinson. Robinson was charged in connection with the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
In that segment, Kimmel said the “MAGA gang” was working hard to portray Robinson as anyone but one of their own, and that they were using the incident for political gain.
ABC decided to suspend Kimmel after Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, pressured the network to act. Disney, which owns ABC, said Kimmel’s remarks were “ill-timed and thus insensitive.” However, the decision sparked a wave of public criticism, with many accusing the government of trying to silence a comedian for political reasons.
Trump publicly celebrated the news of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. He thanked ABC for “finally having the courage to do what had to be done.” Trump also claimed that Kimmel’s show had been “cancelled,” even though ABC only announced a temporary suspension.
Kimmel returned to the air on September 23 and addressed the situation in his opening monologue. He said the former president “tried his best to cancel me,” but ended up “forcing millions of people to watch the show.”
He also thanked Disney for bringing him back. “They welcomed me back on the air, and I thank them for that,” Kimmel said. “Unfortunately, and I think unjustly, this puts them at risk. The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me, and the hundreds of people who work here, fired from our jobs. Our leader is cheering on Americans losing their livelihoods just because he can’t take a joke.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has targeted late-night hosts. He previously celebrated CBS canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and has also called on NBC to fire both Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon from their shows.
(This article is based on reporting by USA Today.)
